Toward a statistical model of the maximum reach in the sagittal plane in sitting and standing positions: Estimating the 5th percentile reach for men and women using anthropometric data from the Spanish industrial working population

A previous kinematics model was modified in order to compute the maximum 5th percentile reach lengths for men and women in the sagittal plane in both standing and sitting positions. Shoulder height standing, fist height, shoulder height sitting, and popliteal height from the Spanish industrial working population, along with their correlation coefficients, were used as anthropometric parameters. The total variance of the model was derived in order to estimate the percentile reach envelope. Unlike well-known results, it was found that the male and female reach arcs were not concentric due to the significant difference in the acromion height between the male and female aforementioned population in standing and sitting positions. Expectedly and according to former investigations, the female maximum 5th percentile reach lengths were found to be 8.3% smaller on average than those of male. Potential applications of this research include designs of industrial workstations, equipment, tools, and products.